They don't really have much to gain, other than the fact that it would kill a bunch of people, put somewhat of a cripple into Dubai, and anger most of the countries in the Middle East that have relations with the west. And besides, that's just what terrorists do. They screw things up, usually for no reason, most of Al Qaeda aside.
Actually i think it is probablly technically true that 90% of the units are sold since they began selling them years ago, pre-bubble burst, it's just that a lot of those owners will default when they are unable to lease the spaces since they're now worth less than half their sale price. I just read a report that projected up to 75% actual occupancy.
I'm still sceptical. Even if the numbers are on the level, what about the countless towers being built around it and in the rest of Dubai? Who's going to want to live in this building if it is surrounded by a contruction graveyard, a real possibility? I hope it all works out, but I'm very doubtful.
I'm not an architecture junkie, but this tower is incredible. There are about 4 or 5 other buildings worldwide that are proposed to surpass it in height. I don't know how realistic it is that they'll be built. The Nakheel Tower in Dubai was supposed to surpass it in height, but I think they cancelled it after financial problems. Korea and China are also building some really tall ones.
-T-shirts and caps for sale in the skyscraper's observatory, called "At The Top," and in its gift shop in the adjoining Dubai Mall are emblazoned with the words "At The Top/Burj Dubai." They're now outmoded--on the first day that the observatory is opening to the public. --The tower's backers reportedly just spent $2 million on Burj Dubai uniforms for security and hotel personnel. How much will it cost to change the uniforms? Or might it be easier to put patches on the uniforms that cover up "Burj Dubai" and say "Burj Khalifa" instead? oops. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune...shirts-and-caps-in-the-gift-shopand-a-wh.html
Downtown Burj Dubai and The Old Town (the surrounding area you're talking about), including one of the largest malls in the world, are all fully occupied. Further on, Sheikh Zayed Road is, has always been and will always be fully occupied. I think it's largely due to being such an amazing project - I would kill to live there, as would any Dubai resident. It's always been within people's budgets as well and you get to live in a villa which is in an area simulating beautiful Andalusian-Arab architecture, facing the tallest building in the world, and right next to one of the largest malls in the world. The only problem Dubai will face is in Business Bay. That's going to take time and will see a huge correction in real estate prices inside. Remember that Dubai sets up projects as freezones - seperate legal entities. This is why during the height of the crisis, property in the in-demand Dubai International Financial Centre remained more expensive than any financial district in the world while property in Jebel Ali saw no demand whatsoever.
Awesome pictures here: http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100105/NATIONAL/100109873/1001
Within people's budgets? Yes, if you are rich. I'll say up front that I'm a huge fan of skyscrapers and architecture, and would dearly love to visit Dubai (I have a cousin living there) simply to see it and the other amazing structures in and around the city, but this is financial folly writ large, in my opinion. To be fair, it is not the only instance of that, as this article points out at the end... Dubai real estate is the real desert That Burj Dubai office tower sure is cool. Empty, too. The world's tallest building was unveiled Monday with plenty of fanfare. But what's most amazing is how utterly unneeded it is. Even in the name of conspicious consumption on a petrodollar scale, it's surprising that anyone would build such a giant new building in a country with a 40 percent office vacancy rate To an extent, that's commercial real-estate for you. Projects that looked good when they started often look like white elephants upon completion. Anyone visited Las Vegas lately? But this is excess writ inconceivably large. BusinessWeek reported that thousands of properties stand empty in Dubai, and more new buildings will be coming on line this year, even after developers canceled billions of dollars worth of projects as the local economy crashed. The Burj Dubai no doubt will benefit from its high profile, but at what cost? This thing is so big, filling it could drain every building anywhere near it. The giant tower is supposedly 90 percent sold, but mostly its units went to speculators at grossly inflated prices. Defaults and rising vacancies loom. Keep in mind, the new building has maintenance charges reportedly four times higher than surrounding properties. Luxury comes at a high price -- perhaps too high for a prudent business to justify. Another wrinkle glossed over in the upbeat coverage of this wonderment is the price paid by those who built it: Not the Chicago architects, of course, but rather the low-wage migrant workers from the Indian subcontinent who provided the cheap muscle. The Los Angeles Times might have it right here when it calls the Burj Dubai a "culture monster." Maybe having a hole-in-the-ground where the Spire was supposed to go, and a bunch of leftover "2016 Olympics" t-shirts, will be a small price to pay for reining in Chicago's overweening dreams. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com.../01/dubai-real-estate-is-the-real-desert.html
well....it looks amazing to me. anybody have a link to a vid of the opening ceremonies??? And Deck -- cheer up. Stuff like this would never be built if it was up to the accountants. I won't be buying a unit -- but I'm going to marvel at the accomplishment of conceiving, designing and building this thing. Simply...wow.
Hey, I'm fine. It's not my financial worry! The building is really incredible. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd love to go see it. And here's the whole ball of wax! (go to youtube for high quality!) <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jx6E7x9nuy0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Jx6E7x9nuy0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Another... <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/53QynxwSyXc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/53QynxwSyXc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> One more.. <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/X-Ha30Fid74&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/X-Ha30Fid74&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>
You've gotta think, especially given the location, there's been some serious precautionary engineering built into it.
